Headache Hygiene: Daily Habits to Help You Manage Migraine

Medically reviewed by: Dr. Reena Gogia Rastogi

Headache hygiene is a term for a set of health practices headache experts have long recommended. Whether you call it “headache hygiene,” “lifestyle changes,” or another term, incorporating these habits into your daily routine may help lessen the impact of migraine.

Headache Hygiene Acronym: S.E.E.D.S.

The migraine brain thrives on consistency. Creating healthy routines in different parts of your life can help make your migraine disease more manageable. Experts often use the acronym S.E.E.D.S. to describe lifestyle changes that may help:

• S: Sleep
• E: Eat
• E: Exercise
• D: Diary
• S: Stress

Before you start: Everyone with migraine has different health, resources, and life circumstances. Try focusing on one or two small changes at a time and stick with them for a few weeks. No single lifestyle change works for everyone. If something helps, you can build on it. If it doesn’t, try something else.

Headache Hygiene Practices: Sleep

Sleep is when your brain and nervous system recover and reset. Getting consistent, quality sleep is one of the most important lifestyle habits for managing migraine. Experts recognize a strong connection between sleep and migraine, and improving sleep habits can make a meaningful difference. Poor sleep quality has been associated with more frequent migraine attacks and is a commonly reported migraine trigger.¹ Good sleep hygiene habits may include:

• Schedule: Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, whenever possible. Try to keep a consistent bedtime routine. 
• Lights: Reduce your exposure to bright or blue light, including screens, for at least an hour before bedtime.² Keep the room dark during sleeping hours. Use red light or a digital clock with red numerals.²
• Temperature: Keep your bedroom cool. Experts suggest that most adults sleep better when the room temperature is between 60° and 67°.
• Sound: White noise devices or streaming tracks might soften the impact of other noises that tend to wake you up.
• Breathing: If you wake up in the middle of the night, try some slow, deep breathing exercises. Breathing exercises like the 4-7-8 technique (and others) can slow your heart rate, lower your blood pressure, and lull your brain back into sleep.³

Talk to your healthcare provider about ongoing sleep difficulties. Some conditions that interrupt your sleep may require medical intervention, like sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome or cramps, narcolepsy, circadian rhythm disorders, perimenopause, or medication side effects.

Headache Hygiene Practices: Eating and Drinking Habits

Experts typically advise patients to focus more on consistent, healthy eating patterns rather than elimination diets. While certain diets have helped some people with migraine, you might get worthwhile benefits from simpler changes:

• Schedule: When it comes to migraine and nutrition, one of the most important factors is not just what you eat, but when you eat it. Keeping a consistent eating schedule can help. Irregular meal patterns and skipped meals can lead to low blood glucose, which can trigger a migraine attack.⁴ Eat on a regular schedule and have snacks on standby. Look for snack foods that provide a good balance of protein, complex carbohydrates, and fats to help prevent blood glucose swings. 
• Safer choices: Although experts are reconsidering the customary wisdom about specific food triggers, there’s evidence to suggest that foods with certain ingredients or additives may provoke migraine attacks for some people. Try using AMD’s list of migraine-safer foods and potential triggers to make migraine-friendly choices.⁵ It’s also important to follow a healthy, well-balanced diet consisting primarily of whole foods.
• Hydration: Dehydration can trigger headaches for anyone. Most adults should aim for about 2 quarts (2 liters) of water per day, but your needs may differ (more or less). Need variety? Try adding lemon, cucumber, or mint to your water, or try electrolyte-rich coconut water or herbal teas like chamomile, peppermint, or rooibos.
• Caution: Limit your intake of artificial sweeteners, food additives such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), and food or drink with high levels of caffeine and/or sugar.

Headache Hygiene Practices: Exercise

Evidence shows regular exercise can help people sleep better, reduce stress, and decrease headache frequency.⁶ Experts suggest aiming for 30 minutes a day at least three times a week.⁷ That may seem overwhelming, especially if you are highly impacted by migraine. Exercise doesn’t have to be high-impact or intense cardio.⁷ Gentle movement in short-duration counts.⁷

• Start slowly and carefully: Choose an exercise that you can stop easily. Begin with just a few minutes and see how your body responds.
• Use a headache diary: Track symptoms and activity to identify patterns and understand your limits.
• Build up gradually: Small steps add up. Increase time and intensity slowly, and stick with what feels manageable.
• Choose movements wisely: Both strength training and aerobic exercise can help. The best exercise is the one you can do safely and consistently. Start with gentle options like walking, stretching, yoga, tai chi, or Pilates.
• Eat and hydrate: Fuel your body before and after activity to support recovery.

Headache Hygiene Practices: Diary

A headache diary or journal is a useful tool for practicing good headache hygiene. By tracking headache or migraine days, symptoms, potential triggers, and medications, you and your healthcare provider can identify patterns and adjust your management plan as needed. AMD’s paper diary allows for easy migraine tracking.⁸ If you prefer using your phone, several migraine-tracking apps are available. Learn how to track your attacks here.⁹

Headache Hygiene Practices: Stress

Stress does not cause migraine disease, but it is commonly reported as a trigger for an attack.¹⁰ In fact, migraine itself can become a source of stress, creating a cycle that’s hard to break. While we can’t eliminate stress entirely, we can strengthen our ability to respond to it. Good headache hygiene includes stress reduction practices. 

• Mindfulness programs: Evidence suggests that structured mindfulness programs can help reduce stress and anxiety and even change how you experience pain.¹¹ Programs often include stress-reduction techniques or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). These options are generally safe, but they may not be appropriate for people with a history of trauma or dissociative symptoms.
• Guided meditation: Several apps offer a variety of meditation soundtracks. Some apps may charge fees, but they offer 24/7 access to narrated meditation recordings, relaxation soundtracks, and guidance. Licensed psychologist, Dawn Buse, PhD, has free relaxation and guided imagery files here.¹²
• Get creative: Coloring books for adults, various doodling and drawing techniques, crafts like knitting and crocheting, and others can be relaxing.

The Bottom Line on Headache Hygiene

Headache hygiene is an important first step for anyone who has been recently diagnosed with migraine or a new tactic for someone who has been living with it for a long time. Whether it’s adjusting your sleep schedule, staying consistent with meals, moving your body, or finding ways to manage stress, small habits can add up to meaningful change. Be patient with yourself, experiment with what works for your life, and track your progress in a headache diary. Discuss any changes with your healthcare provider, as they can help you build a routine that’s right for you.

References

1. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7590682/
2. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side
3. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/4-7-8-breathing
4. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11938733/
5. https://www.migrainedisorders.org/migraine-safe-foods-by-category/
6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38597252/
7. https://migrainecollaborative.org/exercise-to-improve-migraine-how-much-is-enough
8. https://www.migrainedisorders.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Migraine-Diary-2023.pdf
9. https://www.migrainedisorders.org/how-to-track-your-migraine-attacks/
10. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3475609/
11. https://www.migrainedisorders.org/mindfulness-for-migraine/
12. https://dawnbuse.com/relaxation/

Author

Lisa had migraine attacks for most of her adult life before being diagnosed with migraine disease. A communications strategist, writer, and former radio announcer, she lives in the Boston area, where she advocates for her fellow migraine patients every chance she gets.